Christmastime in The Big Easy

Matt & I finally got our Christmas decorations out today and had fun putting up the tree and decorating. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.


Our stockings.

Our Christmas tree.

Of course DJ & Peaches have their own stockings.

Nativity.

DJ playing under the tree (notice we can't find our tree skirt).

And this is our Christmas present from Paul & Kelly!

Etsy

I have recently discovered Etsy and it is the coolest website ever! It is a website where people make homemade stuff & sell it here. And there is the CUTEST stuff on there! I have been looking at the children's stuff (duh!) and found some stuff I love. One more month until we find out what the sex of the baby is and then I'll be hitting Etsy up! I am especially loving these items...

Happy Thanksgiving!

This was the first Thanksgiving that Matt & I have ever been away from our families. It was hard, but we had a wonderful day. I woke up at 6 am to start cooking (man, do I feel like my mom or what?)! Everything went smoothly and I had finished cooking by 10:45 am and we had eaten and cleaned the entire kitchen by noon! I was pretty proud! Here's what we enjoyed for our Thanksgiving meal: Coca-cola ham (by request of the girls), homemade cornbread stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy (NOT homemade!), green beans, chocolate chip pie, pumpkin pie, and sweet potato pie. Mmmm! It was all very delicious! We only had two girls here for dinner & then one left to be with her family after dinner...so we've been hanging out with just one girl. It's been really nice and peaceful. We went to see the movie, This Christmas, after dinner & then ate at Shoney's. And when we got home tonight Matt started getting the Christmas decorations out! Joy joy! What a wonderful day it has been! We sure have a lot to be thankful for!

The Future.

The last few weeks have been extremely hard in our job. So hard, in fact, that Matt & I briefly contemplated moving back to South Carolina. After praying and discussing everything, we have decided that we are going to try to hold out here for a year (which means until June) and then see what happens. There are many changes happening in our home right now and we pray they are for the better.

Continue to pray for us as we struggle through each day with these girls.

Carolina Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend in the Carolinas last weekend and got to spend time with lots of friends and family. Here are some pictures from our visit. Next time we'll have to do better about getting more pictures of family!

The reality of it all.

I have decided that I need to be very real and raw with you all. There is no point in hiding our struggles. And by me sharing a little of them with you all, I know that I will gain support and prayers--and that is exactly what we need right now. So, let's be real.

The reality of life is that Matt & I are miserable. Our job is seriously eating at our souls. We are exhausted and burnt out and it is effecting us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We feel as if we are treading water every day and desperately gasping for any air that we can get. We feel like we are trying our best to do our job and our best is not adding up to anything.

I do not know what this means for us. I don't know what our future holds. I do know that we love this city and want to be here. And we thank God for this opportunity to serve.

Once again, I am asking for your prayers. God is the only one who can bring us through this. Pray that we will get the rest we need. Pray that we will be able to take control of our house and maintain consistency with the girls. And pray that we will find joy in our lives here.

The past few days, I have been very encouraged by two songs--"Hallelujah" by Bethany Dillon and "When the Saints" by Sara Groves. I am so thankful that God reminds us of His faithfulness through songs. Here are some of the lyrics that have especially meant a lot to me.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah
Whatever's in front of me
Help me to sing hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Whatever's in front of me
I'll choose to sing hallelujah"
-Bethany Dillon

"and when i'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought
i think of paul and silas in the prison yard
i hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
and when the Saints go marching in
i want to be one of them
lord it's all that i can't carry and cannot leave behind
it all can overwhelm me
but when i think of all who've gone before and lived a faithful life
their courage compels me"
-Sara Groves

Funny.

This video was stolen from Paul. It cracks me up because it's JUST like my Princess Peaches!